Asian Stocks End Higher; Nikkei Up 0.8%

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Asian stocks rose Friday after U.S. jobs data came in somewhat positive and inflation in the world's No. 1 economy remained in check.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average gained 0.8% to 10,824.72. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 0.8% and the Shanghai Composite closed up by 0.7%.

Initial weekly jobless claims in the U.S. declined by 5,000 to 457,000; economists had been forecasting a drop to 455,000. February consumer prices in the U.S. were unchanged after rising 0.2% in January, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Premarket futures in the U.S. were mixed, a day after Wall Street posted another day of gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 45.50, or 0.4% to 10,779.17 on Thursday for its eighth-straight day of gains.

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